Page 12 of The Amendment

I cringed, picturing the ambulance showing up at my door after I’d broken the news. “She’s fine. It’s just a stomach bug. Very minor. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay, let me know if you hear from your father.”

“I will.”

“And don’t tell him I’m asking.”

“I won’t.”

“Tell him I joined a yoga class. Tell him I’m looking better than ever.”

“Bye, Mom.” I ended the call without waiting for a response, sinking down onto the sofa with a sigh. I should get back to cleaning, but I could feel a headache coming on.

My parents' weird relationship had always been a major stressor all my life, but somehow, I’d imagined it would get better as I got older. Once I had a family of my own. Instead, they’d gotten a messy divorce, and it had just gotten…weirder?

The two were constantly trying to outdo each other.

It seemed miserable and exhausting.

I thought back to the early days, when the news of my mother’s affair had gotten out. I’d been sixteen, and none of it made sense to me. It was shortly after that when I’d met him.

The boy I thought would provide me with a means of escaping my family.

The first boy I’d ever loved.

I shook him from my head. Lately, I’d been thinking about him more and more, and I had no idea why.

I pushed myself up from the couch, moving back to the kitchen to finish cleaning, turning on a podcast to keep my mind occupied.

I had enough on my mind.

I had no desire to relive that time—the darkness, the pain. It was over, and I’d moved on.

CHAPTER SIX

PETER

The voice of my assistant, Melodie, came over the speaker of my office phone, startling me.

“Mr. Greenburg, you have someone here to see you. Can I send him back?”

I placed the sandwich back down on the paper it had been wrapped in, dusting off my shirt as I hurriedly chewed the bite of food in my mouth.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Um, he says his name is Slater,” she said cautiously.

My stomach tightened, and I shoved my lunch into the drawer. “Yeah, send him in.” I’d nearly forgotten about his missed call the night before. Why had he shown up to the office? I checked my calendar as I waited, a thin sheen of sweat gathering at my brow.

Moments later, I heard two knocks on my door, and it opened before I’d had a chance to welcome him inside.

“Jim,” I said, holding out a hand to shake his. “It’s been too long, man.”

I spied the silver-capped tooth in his mouth as hegrinned, a ball cap over his blond, buzz-cut hair. “Tell me about it.” He took a seat in front of my desk without an invitation, and I sat once again. “Hey, I tried to call you last night. You didn’t call me back…”

“You did?” I feigned ignorance. “Shoot, sorry. My daughter’s sick, and I’ve been all over the place. Is everything okay? Are we still on schedule with the Cameron project?” Jim never came to my office, but that wasn’t the only reason for the uneasy feeling in my chest. He was one of the best contractors on my team, but wherever Jim Slater went, trouble usually followed. Whatever he wanted, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be good.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s all good. I just need a favor.” He grasped his fist with his free hand, leaning back casually in his seat.

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